What's best to do with "Leftovers" on the way to Zero Waste?

Whether a community is recycling and composting 50%, 70% or 90% of its discards, there still remain thousands of tons of mixed-waste residuals (the “leftovers”) that need to be managed and disposed of, most commonly in landfills. The question before us and addressed in this study is: “What is the best method for managing our residuals in order to reduce the harm and risks to public health and our environment?”

The study found MRBT-to-landfill had the lowest overall environmental and human health impacts of all the disposal technologies. It is reasonable to conclude that the MRBT option is not only the best environmental practice for managing residuals, but is also the best community strategic option as well.

What's best to do with "Leftovers" on the way to Zero Waste?

Whether a community is recycling and composting 50%, 70% or 90% of its discards, there still remain thousands of tons of mixed-waste residuals (the “leftovers”) that need to be managed and disposed of, most commonly in landfills. The question before us and addressed in this study is: “What is the best method for managing our residuals in order to reduce the harm and risks to public health and our environment?”

The study found MRBT-to-landfill had the lowest overall environmental and human health impacts of all the disposal technologies. It is reasonable to conclude that the MRBT option is not only the best environmental practice for managing residuals, but is also the best community strategic option as well.

Microplastics in Compost from Food Packaging and Serviceware

In several Zero Waste programs across the country, plastic-coated paper products like milk cartons and coffee cups are accepted in compost bins. Eco-Cycle has funded groundbreaking research from the highly-respected Woods End® Laboratories in Maine and international composting expert Will Brinton showing that these plastic coatings DON’T go away in the composting process. In fact, the plastic breaks down into tiny micro-particles, not visible to the naked eye, that remain in the compost and eventually make their way into our soils and waterways, adding to the growing problem of plastic pollution in the environment. In addition, new research indicates that micro-plastics may be harmful to living organisms in many ecosystems.

View our groundbreaking research and check out our toolkit to help make sense of the different types of food packaging on the market today, what products are safe to include in composting programs, why plastic coatings pose a serious threat to our environment, and now who’s meeting best practices with plastic-coated food packaging. Take action in your community to keep plastics out of our environment.

COOL: Compostable Organics Out of Landfills

Throwing leftover food, yard debris and paper into the trash doesn't just take up space in landfills--it creates a powerful greenhouse gas and robs our soils of valuable nutrients. Learn how to achieve significant climate benefits RIGHT NOW by PREVENTING landfill-produced methane.

1. Seize the Paper: Commit to recycling a minimum of 75% of all paper and composting the rest by 2012.

2. Source Separate: Require source separation of residential and business waste into three streams: compostables, recyclables and residuals.

3. Feed Local Soils: Support local farmers and sustainable food production with community composting infrastructure.

4. Stop Creating Methane: Public policy needs to first support the elimination of methane by requiring source separation of compostables and recyclables, then mitigate methane from existing sources where organics have already been buried.

Stop Trashing the Climate

Stop Trashing the Climate, co-authored by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Eco-Cycle and GAIA, proves a Zero Waste approach is one of the fastest, cheapest and most effective strategies to protect the climate. Significantly decreasing waste disposed in landfills and incinerators will reduce greenhouse gas emissions the equivalent to closing 21% of U.S. coal-fired power plants. This is comparable to leading climate protection proposals such as improving national vehicle fuel efficiency. Indeed, preventing waste and expanding reuse, recycling, and composting are essential to put us on the path to climate stability.

Why waste-to-energy is NOT part of Zero Waste

The pioneers of the Zero Waste movement in the U.S. —Eco-Cycle among them—were very clear in the mid-90s that zero waste to landfill was not the same thing as Zero Waste. Zero Waste is about making the best choice with our natural resources — from extraction to production to consumption to disposal. It involves a constant evaluation about our materials’ choices and a strong commitment to eliminating waste, not just treating it.

We continue to oppose WTE as a part of Zero Waste because WTE:

has the most greenhouse gases (GHG) per fuel type

its emissions contain dangerous air pollutants

is the most expensive form of electricity

fails to create a fraction of the jobs created by recycling and composting

produces only a fraction of the energy that can be saved through recycling

"Zero Waste to landfill" is NOT Zero Waste

The business community has embraced the concept of Zero Waste as a way to improve efficiencies, reduce production waste and save money. Unfornately there has been a wave of initiatives under the guise of "Zero Waste to landfill" which are accepting high levels of waste incineration.